Spring for cultivator-beams



(No Model.)

W. D. BRUNDAGE. SPRING FOR UULTIVATOR BEAMS.

No. 596,038. Patented De0.21,189'7.

a it winessesh I I i iHL NORRIS PETERS cow. FHOTO LITHO WASHINGTON a cUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WVILLIAM D. BRUNDAGE, OF ALBION, MICHIGAN.

SPRING FOR CULTlVATOR-BEAMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,038, dated December21, 1897. Application filed July 3, 1896. Serial No, 597,996. (Nomodel.) i

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM D. BRUN- DAGE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Albion, in the county of Calhoun and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Springsfor Cultivator-Beams; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to the class of cultivators, and more particularlyto the class of wheel-cultivators which are termed straddlerowcultivators, or those having two beams each carrying cultivator-bladesfor working on each side of a row of plants. In such cultivatorsheretofore springs have been employed that at all times exert aliftingaction upon the beams and cultivators, and also springs that at alltimes exert their force to depress the beams and cultivators, and,further, springs that exert their power both to lift and depress thebeam, said springs acting when the beam is forced below a certain medianline to depress the beam and cultivators and acting When the beam israised above the said line to lift the cultivators and hold the beam andcultivators in an elevated position.

My invention consists in an improved construction of spring and itsconnections with the beam and frame whereby the said spring withincertain limits practically serves as a counterbalance for the beam andcultivatorblades, so that when the beam is in the operative position, orthe position in which it is when the cultivator is doing work, the beamand its attached cultivator-blades will be balanced and will remain inthat position unless moved therefrom by some exteriorforce or power, andwhen raised to any point within easy movement by the hand of theoperator the beam will still be balanced by the spring and will remainin the position in which it is brought unless forced therefrom.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one form in which I havecontemplated embodying my invention, and said invention is disclosed inthe description and claims of this application.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an isometric view of the frame of acultivator with my improved spring attached thereto. Fig. 2 is anenlarged side View. Fig. 3 is a still further enlarged detail ofconstruction, and Fig. 4 shows a modification.

In the figures, Ais the arched axle or frame, and B is the plow orcultivator beam, to which is attached one or more plows orcultivatorblade's. This beam is secured in any preferred manner to asleeve 0, loosely mounted on a horizontal part of the axle near thesupporting-wheels. This beam is secured to the sleeve so as to be freeto be moved laterally while the sleeve, turning freely upon the axle,permits vertical movement. The sleeve 0 is provided with arms 0 0,extending on opposite sides thereof and rigid therewith. These arms maybe secured to the sleeve or made integral therewith, as may be foundmost convenient. Near the upper end of one of the vertical portions ofthe arch is pivoted a lever D, to the forward end of which is securedone end of the spring E. The opposite end of the spring is secured tothe rearwardlyextending arm a, secured to the sleeve 0. the rearward endof the lever D is pivoted one end of a link F, which extends downwardlyand forwardly and is pivoted to the arm 0 of the sleeve 0. The link F isbent, as shown, so that the central portion thereof lies in a differentplane from its ends, so as to enable the link to cross the spring Ewithout coming in contact therewith.

By preference the spring E is connected at one end, so that adjustmentcan be made to increase or decrease the tension of the spring. In thisinstance the spring E is connected to a bolt e, which passes through thelever D, and is secured by a nut which can be turned to efiect thedesired adjustment of the spring.

In Figs. 1 and 2 I have shown an extensionspring, but acompression-spring can be employed instead, as shown in Fig. 4. In thisfigure the spring E has its lower end bearing against a plate G, whichis supported by two rods g g, connecting it to thelever D, which is aslightly-modified form of the lever D in the other figures. The beam isconnected with the spring by a link and a rod 17, passing through anopening in the plate G and through the interior of the spring. This rodhas a collar 17 at its upper end bearing on the top of the spring. Thelink F and the other parts may be of the same construction as in theother figures.

The beam requires the greatest force to sustain it when it is in thehorizontal position; but a spring adjusted to exactly balance a beam inthat position would not hold it when raised above it, as the force ofthe spring would be diminished. In order to enable the beam and plows tobe held or balanced, means must be provided to apply a certain amount oftension to the spring as the beam is raised; but as the force requiredto balance the beam and hold it lessens as the beam is raised thetension applied on raising the beam must not be such as to cause thespring to exert the same force as when the beam is in a horizontalposition. \Vhen the spring has been given a tension just sufficient tobalance the beam, it is only necessary to fix the pivotal point of thelever D so as to secure the desired increment of tension in raisingthebeam. This mode of balancing the beam is found to reduce the labor ofthe operator to the minimum. But little more force is required to raiseor depress the beam than to raise or lower the hand.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A wheel-cultivator having a plow or cultivator beam pivoted to moveup and down vertically, a spring-balance for holding it in position whenlifted or depressed to any point within a certain range of its movement,substantially as described.

2. Awheel-cultivator having a main frame, a plow or cultivator beampivoted to the main frame to permit said beam to move up and downvertically, asprin g and adj ustingmechanism therefor balancing saidbeam to hold it in position when moved to any point within a certainrange of its vertical movement, substantially as described.

3. In a wheel-cultivator, the combination with the main frame, of apivoted plow or cultivator beam, and a spring and lever interposedbetween said beam and the main frame and holding the said beam balancedat any point within a certain range of movement, substantially asdescribed.

4. In a wheel-cultivator, the combination with the main frame, of apivoted plow or cultivator beam, and a spring and lever interposedbetween said beam and main frame and adjusting means for said spring andlever for holding the said beam balanced in its operative position,substantially as described.

5. A wheel-cultivator having a main frame,

a pivoted plow or cultivator beam, a lever pivoted upon the said mainframe, a spring between said lever and plow-beam and adjusting mechanismfor said spring connected with said lever, whereby the said beam isbalanced when brought to diiferent positions in its range of movement,substantially as described.

6. In a cultivator the combination with the main frame and pivotedplow-beam, of a lever pivoted to the main frame,arms connected forvertical movement with said plow-beam and extending on each side of itspivot, a spring connecting the rearwardly-extending arm with the forwardend of said lever, and a link connecting the forwardly-extending armwith the rearward end of said lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM D. BRUNDAGE.

Witnesses:

G. W. BORTLES, Enw. G. PEcK.

